A Visit to Istanbul’s “Little Syria”

Over the last few years, as a growing number of Syrians fleeing the violence in their homeland have made their way to Istanbul, the Aksaray district has swiftly turned into the city’s “Little Syria,” filled with shops and restaurants catering to this new Syrian diaspora. CB photographer Ipek Baltutan recently spent a day walking around the area, capturing some of the flavor of this newly formed enclave.

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Istanbul -- Perhaps nowhere else is it clearer that as many as one million Syrians have settled down in Istanbul than in the city’s historic Fatih district. The neighborhood is home to the city’s immigration headquarters (Fatih Emniyet), and the backstreets leading up to it are among the most transformed, since Syrians and other new…

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